All Asian Casting at Claudia Li SS19

Designer Claudia Li did something extremely out of the ordinary. She actually defied diversity and went with all Asian models for her Spring-Summer 2019 runway show. A past honoree in Forbes 30 Under 30, perhaps having been placed on such an impressive list encouraged Li’s power move.

Li tells Refinery29, “For me, I think this collection is the right time to do it because it's our first official runway show, and this collection is all about memories of how I grew up in New Zealand as an Asian woman.” The collection boasted of floral graphics, 3-D stitching and the key to it all was its loose fittings but well structured silhouettes. This kind of representation is making statements not just in today’s blockbuster films (hello the now history making Crazy Rich Asians), bestselling novels and hit tv shows, but hopefully in every avenue of society. As an Asian female, I am proud, moved and over the moon that Li is such a risk taker in an industry that has only so much casted one or two token Asian models per show (if any) in past fashion weeks.